: Re: How to deal with fan's wants/criticism with a series? This is particularly aimed at those who have written/published a series. So, a lot of my ideas involve serious commitment over several short

@Candy753

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Of course, you're always welcome to ignore fan feedback. However, beta readers can be hard to find and it's a rare privelege to have so much feedback, so I'm assuming you're asking this question because you want to learn something from fan feedback.

The television shows and comics I watch that handle fan feedback well generally seem to follow the following guidelines:

Pay attention to the emotion behind the fan reaction. Sometimes fan anger can be a sign you did something right. Readers want their favorite characters to be happy, but they care about your work because bad things can happen. However, if they're angry at the tone of the story as a whole, that might be a warning sign. If they're confused, that's probably not great. If they're bored, that's really, really bad.
Don't taunt (and try not to outright insult) your fans. If there's a fan-favorite ship that you don't want to use in your story, don't have them almost kiss. The LGBTQIA+ version of this is called queer-baiting. For a less shipping example, sometimes I get frustrated because the female lead is too much of a damsel in distess. If she turns into a badass for a couple of episodes but then, plot twist that was an evil dopplegänger and she goes back to being a weakling, that won't go well.
Don't copy fan ideas exactly. Make sure you have some unexpected twists. If it looks like you always take the fan-favorite approach, fans will start to wonder why to bother with your work. Clearly they can write it themselves.
In general, if you do react, react to what fans disliked you doing or liked you doing, not what fans wished you did. If a plot arc doesn't resonate with your fanbase, that's very useful feedback. You can investigate further and find a way to improve. If fans are confused or bored, and you think the underlying issues will be addressed on the next installment, you can hint that things will get better. Maybe they'll stick around longer. Things fans say they wish would have happen are mostly, well, wish-fulfilment.

If you're meeting fans in-person, though, the right reaction is a thick skin. You can emphasize that it's your story, or that surprises and setbacks are an important part of a story. If you suggest the story will go the way they suggest but have no intention of letting it do so, you'll end up upsetting them even more later.

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